Title

Author

Date

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership

First Adviser

Hochbein, Craig

Abstract

Accountability pressures in NCLB and continued in ESSA combined with a perceived void in actionable data have led districts to implement NWEA MAP interim assessments. NWEA MAP interim assessments purport to predict performance on accountability exams and to inform instruction in advance of these exams with the ultimate goal of improving student achievement. Interim assessments such as the NWEA MAP interim assessments are typically administered multiple times per year and therefore consume a significant amount of instructional time.This study analyzed the longitudinal student data of 405 student from two Pennsylvania middle schools, grades 6-8, that had implemented NWEA MAP interim assessments. Using a purely quantitative design, this study investigated whether NWEA MAP scores grew significantly and to what extent NWEA MAP interim assessments contributed to the predictive utility of existing student achievement data.Using RM-ANOVA and descriptive statistics, this study found statistically significant growth of NWEA group means but overall mixed evidence of sustained growth. Using block-wise multiple regression, this study found that while each administration of the NWEA MAP made a statistically significant contribution to the overall predictive utility of the model, the contribution was of limited practical value. Furthermore, this study found that additional administrations of the NWEA MAP eliminated the significance of earlier administrations. Existing student achievement data, course grades and especially prior year PSSA 6 scores, persistently and powerfully predicted performance on PSSA 7.